page_title: Dance forms of Tamil Nadu
section_title: Bharatanatyam
hierarchical_section_title: Dance forms of Tamil Nadu / Bharatanatyam
caption_attribution_description: Català: Dansarina del Bharata natyam. Français&#160;: Danseuse du Bharata natyam. Polski: Tancerka bharatanatjam. English: A en:Bharatanatyam dancer at the Festival of South Asia in en:Toronto, en:Ontario, en:Canada
context_page_description: Tamil Nadu has a rich history of art and entertainment. The three modes of entertainment classified as Iyal, Isai and Nadagam had their roots in the rural folk theatre like Theru Koothu. Many forms of group and individual dances with the classical forms for popularity and sheer entertainment value. Some of the dance forms are performed by Tribal people. The majority of these dances are still thriving in Tamil Nadu today.
context_section_description: Bharatanatyam is a major genre of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. Traditionally, Bharatanatyam has been a solo dance that was performed exclusively by women, and expressed South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of Shaivism, but also of Vaishnavism and Shaktism. Bharatanatyam may be the oldest classical dance tradition of India.
  Bharatanatyam style is noted for its fixed upper torso, legs bent or knees flexed out combined with spectacular footwork, a sophisticated vocabulary of sign language based on gestures of hands, eyes and face muscles. The dance is accompanied by music and a singer, and typically her guru is present as the director and conductor of the performance and art. The dance has traditionally been a form of an interpretive narration of mythical legends and spiritual ideas from the Hindu texts. The performance repertoire of Bharatanatyam, like other classical dances, includes nrita (pure dance), nritya (solo expressive dance) and natya (group dramatic dance).
caption: A Bharatanatyam performer in Toronto expressing a part of a play with hand and facial gesture, in the dance's distinctive bent leg position.
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